How did YOU Resolve Your Mouth-Leaks? (poll)

Actually I didn't switch to a FFM, I switched to a Total Face mask- the Respironics FitLife Total Face Mask. 99% of nights 0.0 leaks.

I use the famous DIY Oral Appliance as designed by frequenseeker. I went to the local Wal-Mart and bought a cheap boil and bite. After molding it to the shape needed I used if for awhile then went to the dentist to have it checked out. He told me he didn't see a problem using it. Just recently I switched my machine to a S9 and I haven't had to use it. I just use a chin strap. I have only used the S9 for four nights now so hopefully the chin strap is all I need but time will tell.

"Actually I didn't switch to a FFM, I switched to a Total Face mask- the Respironics FitLife Total Face Mask. 99% of nights 0.0 leaks." Mary Z

Mary, does air blow into your eyes if they're open with it on? Also, how adjustable is it for different face sizes and shapes?

I was looking at one since I suspect my facial muscles / fat adjust during the night. Hopefully the pad a cheek leak strap will take care of it but still curious about the total face mask.

@OP: hey, thanks. Nice topic, i have been searching these info for ages.

None of the above.

DebbieDeb wrote:"Actually I didn't switch to a FFM, I switched to a Total Face mask- the Respironics FitLife Total Face Mask. 99% of nights 0.0 leaks." Mary Z

Mary, does air blow into your eyes if they're open with it on? Also, how adjustable is it for different face sizes and shapes?

I was looking at one since I suspect my facial muscles / fat adjust during the night. Hopefully the pad a cheek leak strap will take care of it but still curious about the total face mask.

Debbie, I'm not Mary, but in case she misses seeing your question...

I don't generally use a FF mask. I use nasal pillows and tape over my mouth.

But about a month ago I ordered the FitLife mask from cpap.com. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was no sensation at all of air blowing into my eyes. I use a pressure of 14/11 with a bilevel machine. I didn't keep my eyes open for a long time... didn't try to read a book or watch TV, anything like that. I opened mine for perhaps a half minute at the most, quite a few times. Like a person would to glance at a clock, or to reach for something on the nightstand.

I don't know if eyes would get dry if a person kept them open for an extended time, but I sure didn't feel any air blowing against them at all...open or shut.

I was also pleasantly surprised that such a big mask was quite comfortable for sleeping on my side. Sunk into a smushy foam pillow quite well. It was so nice to not feel the hard plastic of a traditional FF mask pressing into the sides of the face. Or feel the bulkiness of the mouth cushion and pillows of a hybrid style FF.

The FitLife mask is probably the least leaky and least aggravating FF mask I've used. And I've tried a LOT of them, including the Hybrid and the Quattro (not the Quattro FX.) The FitLife did spring occasional small leaks here and there when I moved around, but not bad...not anywhere near as badly as every other FF mask has been for my toss'n'turn sleeping style.

Nasal pillows and tape will still be my "every night" mask. The FitLife will be my go-to mask on the rare occasions I have a cold with congestion to the point that I have to breathe through my mouth. If I absolutely had to wear a FF mask every night, the FitLife would be it.

Of course, just because it suited me ok, and suits Mary very well, doesn't mean it would work for someone else. Masks are such an individual trial/error thing. And all of them are ridiculously expensive, imho. A mask that suits a person IS the most important key to being able to do cpap at all, though. Worth keeping up the search until we find one that actually lets us sleep while wearing it!

I've always had the habit of locking my jaw and pushing my tongue up against my teeth or the roof of my mouth. I got extra impetus to do this when the sleep tech suggested a full face mask. The thought (at the time) of having my whole face covered freaked me out and I told the tech "I never breath through my mouth" and then I prayed that would remain true under pressure. It has not been a problem for me. But I am a light sleeper, if I get air blowing out of my mouth it wakes me up and I suck it back closed.

I am a huge mouth breather, therefore I've gone to extremes. I use a chin strap and duct tape.

Only thing that truly works for bad mouth leaks is a good full face mask (Resmed Mirage Quattro). Resmed makes some shitty equipment, but their masks are premo.

Eric

Bump for Newbs

Bob3000 wrote:(NOTE: Please only vote for what actually works for you personally, i.e. what you use most/every night. Thanks!)

Erm, well, I didn't vote because you don't have what works for me -- I invented a chin support which I call a brandy keg. I couldn't stand the chin straps, and they didn't work.

quote]I am currently replaced the noisy but otherwise great Headrest mask with a much quieter and nearly equally effective Swift FX.

Swift FX did NOT work for me. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=65519&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=Swift+FX

Like I said, I made my own chin strap (of sorts) and that resolved the problem.

Mouth breathing is minor for me and does not impact therapy. I tend to have only very brief episodes with OAs (when I have em).

Totally lucked out in mouth breathing....I'm actually able to keep my mouth closed using the nasal pillows. Prior to CPAP I was a total mouth breather too.

Pre-CPAP, I was a mouth breather, and suffered from raging dry mouth in the morning. Sometimes it was so bad, it made me gag. At my titration study, I was very skeptical when the tech handed me a nasal mask, and I said so. She took some time to teach me the tongue trick, and my dry mouth was cured that first night.

About once a week, I might loose control, and be awakened with fluttering lips, but it is so infrequent, it really doesn't seem like a problem to me. I just readjust, take a deep breath and go back to sleep. Reading what some people go through, I feel very fortunate.

I'm using a PapCap and an Ace bandage, which works great for me. I found that with the chin strap alone I still occasionally putter air out of the corner of my mouth, which would then keep waking me up. The ace bandage takes care of that.

I got the idea from this post a while back:

viewtopic/t53666/Controlling-mouth-leak ... -glue.html